London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 24, 2026

Robinson spent £100k on gambling while getting supporter donations

Robinson spent £100k on gambling while getting supporter donations

The founder of the English Defence League has told a court he spent £100,000 on gambling while receiving donations from supporters.

Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, gave evidence about his finances after losing a libel case.

The 39-year-old was ordered to pay damages to Syrian teenager Jamal Hijazi after defaming him online.

Robinson told the court he owed hundreds of thousands of pounds when he declared himself bankrupt last year.

Appearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London at a hearing to discuss money he owes, he said at one point he was spending about £100,000 on gambling in casinos and online.

He described how he wasted money on "drink, alcohol, partying" while receiving thousands of pounds in donations from supporters.

Robinson said in 2020 he received about £1,000 a month from supporters and at times that figure was between £3,000 to £4,000.


'Total mess'


He was asked about claims in his bankruptcy form that he owed a debt of £323,000 to Bedfordshire businessman Christopher Johnson.

He told the court the "successful businessman" had "cash, a lot of cash" but the pair fell out and the relationship "went pretty sour" and it "wasn't realistic" to pay him back.

Talking about the build-up to his bankruptcy in March 2021, he said he was a "total mess" and had "suffered a total mental breakdown for two or three years".

He added: "I owe loads of money. Can't get out of it."

He said that for some of the time he was "sofa surfing" between about seven different addresses.

Robinson said he was not currently living in the UK and only returned when he was working.

Asked about a claim in his 2009 book Enemy of the State that he owned seven properties, but six of them were in his wife's name, he said: "I like to give off that I am a successful man when I am not."

Jamal Hijazi was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield in October 2018.

After the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims about Mr Hijazi, leading to the libel case.

The current hearing was called to discuss the £43,293 Robinson owed from a court order made in December 2020.

Since then he has been ordered to pay £100,000 in damages to Mr Hijazi and further significant legal costs.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Tour de France Organizers Confirm Historic Grand Depart Featuring Edinburgh and Yorkshire Stages
National Cyber Security Centre Issues Urgent Alerts Following Global Security Vulnerability in Core Programming Software
Independent Energy Analysts Warn Great Britain Faces Highest Winter Power Tariffs in Europe
Major British Defense Contractors Commit to Delivering Forty Thousand New Apprenticeships and Training Placements
New Bradford Railway Station Infrastructure Project Approved to Transform Regional Transit Connectivity Across Northern England
Welsh Infrastructure Stakeholders Press Government for Accelerated Local Sourcing in Military and Uniform Manufacturing
Scottish Council Governance Crisis Triggers High-Court Legal Challenge Over Leadership Ouster Bid
High Street Bakery Chain Greggs Announces Major Factory Closures and Seven Hundred Job Cuts
Automotive Manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover Advances Advanced Defense Technology Partnership with European Allies
Treasury and Bank of England Officials Signal Persistent Concern Over Inflation-Driven Interest Rate Path
International Monetary Fund Upgrades United Kingdom Growth Forecast While Issuing Inflation Warnings
National Health Service Leaders Warn of Severe Capacity Pressures as Early Winter Respiratory Infections Surge
Government Issues Emergency Resilience Guidance Advising All British Citizens to Stockpile Essential Supplies
United Kingdom Private Sector Growth Beats Expectations in October Driven by Resilient Services and Manufacturing
Barclays to Cut Five Thousand Jobs in Major Artificial Intelligence Adoption and Cost-Cutting Overhaul
Piper Tomahawk Aircraft Crash Near Drymen in Stirling Claims Two Lives as Investigators Deploy
North Sea Transition Authority Approves Jackdaw Gas Field Production After Ministerial Authorization
Government Injects One Hundred and Forty Million Pounds to Expand Urgent Care Ahead of Winter Crisis
Department of Health Warns Further Pay Rises Will Derail National Health Service Waiting List Targets
Major Environmental Emergency Declared in South Wales Following Aerospace Kerosene Spill
Tank Barrel Production Returns to Britain as Defence Contractors Accelerate Domestic Rearmament
Government Approves Controversial Jackdaw Gasfield Development in the North Sea
National Health Service Maternity Safety Review Condemned Over Flawed Artificial Intelligence Integration
Dozens of United Kingdom Government Services Taken Offline Amid Critical Software Vulnerability
Barclays Announces Five Thousand Job Cuts Citing Artificial Intelligence Productivity Gains
Treasury Relaxes Post-Financial Crisis Accountability Rules for City of London Executives
United Kingdom Government Issues Unprecedented Guidance Urging Citizens to Stockpile Essential Supplies
United Kingdom Consumer Inflation Accelerates to Eleven-Month High Driven by Transport Costs
United Kingdom Public Sector Net Debt Breaches Three Trillion Pounds Ahead of Autumn Budget
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Commits Fifty Million Pounds to Establish Regional Artificial Intelligence Innovation Clusters
Ofgem Directs Major Energy Suppliers to Expand Vulnerable Household Support Funds Ahead of Winter Heating Season
Home Office and National Police Chiefs Council Unveil New Intelligence-Led Strategy to Tackle Organised Immigration Crime Networks
First Minister John Swinney Secures Scottish Parliament Approval for Comprehensive Climate and Green Energy Infrastructure Strategy
National Health Service England and Trades Union Congress Finalize Agreement on Emergency Winter Staffing and Pay Frameworks
HM Treasury and Department for Business and Trade Announce Multi-Billion-Pound Sovereign Investment Pact to Spur Regional Advanced Manufacturing
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey Signals Potential for Faster Interest Rate Cuts as Domestic Inflation Pressures Ease Below Forecasts
Parliamentary Inquiry Highlights Urgent Need to Address Housing Shortage as Scottish Completions Hit Eleven-Year Low
United Kingdom and Singapore Sign Comprehensive Financial Agreement to Deepen Digital and Sustainable Market Ties
Greggs Announces Plan to Close Four Manufacturing Facilities and Cut Seven Hundred and Forty Jobs
International Monetary Fund Raises United Kingdom Economic Growth Forecast While Warning of Inflationary Pressures
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs Onto Gas to Lower Household Bills
Housebuilding Across Scotland Plummets to Eleven-Year Low Despite Government Pledges to Tackle National Housing Emergency
Greggs Announces Factory Closures Across Northern England and Scotland Affecting Seven Hundred Forty Jobs
United Kingdom and Singapore Conclude Eleventh Financial Dialogue in Singapore to Deepen Cooperation on Digital Finance and Capital Markets
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Urges Government to Shift Policy Costs to Gas Bills and Tap Windfall Profits to Lower Consumer Prices
British Broadcasting Corporation Announces Major Cost-Cutting Overhaul to Close Linear Broadcast Services for Television Channels BBC Three and BBC Scotland Alongside Digital Radio Station BBC Radio Four Extra
London Capital Markets Face Renewed Scrutiny After High-Profile Offerings Underperform Post-Listing
Green Party Wins Historic First Westminster Parliamentary By-Election in Gorton and Denton
Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds Unveils Sweeping Regulatory Overhaul for English Water Industry
United Kingdom Health Security Agency Confirms Thirty-Four Cases in Kent Meningitis Outbreak
×